Government Communication Strategies Through Social Media During 'COVID-19' Pandemic

• Published in: Journal of Umm Al-Qura University for Social Sciences 2021-09, Vol.13 (3), p.179-218
• Main Authors: Salem, Shaymaa, Elkhattat, Dina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1658-8169; 1658-8169
• DOI: 10.54940/ss18967255

The emerging Coronavirus 'COVID-19' pandemic impact the performance and communication practices of governments around the world. The pandemic imposed a new reality, as all government sectors witnessed a complete transformation in the work systems and practices in a way that the world had never seen before. Because of social distancing, changing lifestyle and quality of life, and adopting a remote work system, the importance of using communication and information technology (ICT), especially social networks and smart applications, has increased in communicating with different stakeholders and accomplishing various tasks and goals. Therefore, governments shift towards the digital era with all their tools and apply them effectively to achieve the strategic goals and serve the state's vision through its governmental institutions in various fields. In this context, various government institutions in the UAE, including police institutions, have relied on social media and digital communication platforms, in their response to this pandemic. Recently, the police institutions rely on social media networks as a basic communication tool due to its effectiveness in disseminating information quickly and easily, its interactivity with the target audience, its role in awareness during pandemic, its role in stop rumors, spreading the security culture, spreading the spirit of citizenship and belonging, and other goals of Government communication. From this standpoint, this study mainly aimed at analyzing government communication practices of the Ajman Police during the pandemic in its various stages, through its official account on Instagram. The study relied on the survey method, and uses a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the content of the official account during the period from (mid-February to mid-June 2020), as that period witnessed the initial wave of the pandemic. The results of the analytical study showed the effectiveness of the digital practices of the Ajman Police official account on "Instagram" through a diversity of goals, which were appropriate to the circumstances under the 'COVID–19' pandemic. The "Ajman Police" was keen to apply the social responsibility role towards the whole society through informative and advisory practices to raise public awareness to stop the dissemination of the pandemic. The posts also motivated its followers to use digital services through the smart application, by explaining how to use it with pictures and videos, addition